Feeding attachment for nail-plate feeders



(No Model.)

S. DEAN. FEEDING ATTACHMENT FORNAIL PLATE FEEDERS. No. 288,982. r Patented Nov. 27, 1883.

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SAMUEL S. DEAN, OF MINGO JUNCTION, OHIO.

FEEDlNG ATTACHMENT FOR NAIL-PLATE FEEDERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 288,982, dated November 27, 1883. Application filed January H, 1883. Renewed October 5, 1883. (No model.)

To coZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL S. DEAN, a resident of Mingo Junction, in the county of Jefferson and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feeding Attachments for Nail-Plate Feeders; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,

. reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form apart of this specification.

My invention relates specially to means for feeding the nail-plate automatically into the cuttingknives of the nail-machine.

In all the nail-plate feeders of which I have any knowledge, the feed-rod holding the nailplate is pushed forward into the knives by means of clamping-jaws, which take hold of the rodone jaw on each sideat stated intervals, and with the aid of a rock-lever or cammovement advance the rod holdingv the nailplate forward into the knives until the plate strikes the gage, at which point it holds it un til the nail is cut. After the nail is out off i from the plate, the jaws open and move backward on the rod and take a new hold. The barrel. of the machine is then withdrawn and the plate turned over and pushed back into the knives. Then the clamping'jaws operate to push the nipper-rod forward until the plate strikes the gage, ready for another nail to be cut. This mode of feeding the nail-plate is very unsatisfactory from the fact that it is unreliable in giving an accurate uniform feed motion to the plate. The clamping-jaws are liable to slip or lose their grip on the rodand not push it forward suificiently far to insure a cut requisite to make a perfect nail. Vhen any variation in the nail-plate occurs, (such as diii'erent thicknesses of the nail-plate being used,) there is a liability of the plate slipping through the fingers on the end of the barrel into the moving knife when the jaws are not in operation, and thus permit the rod to slip through the clamping-jaws suflicient to cause the succeeding cuts beingimperfect until the feed motion catches up to its proper place. To overcome these objections and provide an accurate uniform feed is the object of my invention 3 and to accomplish this I have devised a feed-rod having a rack-plate connected there with, whereby, by means of a pawl and lever connectedwith the operating mechanism of l the nail-plate feeder, the plate is automatically fed into the cutting-knives;

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of a nail-plate-feeding machine similar to those in general use, showing my improvement attached thereto; Figs. 2 and 3, detail sectlonal views of the feeding mechanism.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts.

The letter A represents the frame of a nerd machine; B, a rock-lever operated by a cammovement, to which is connected the bracket G, supporting the barrel D. This rock-lever operates to withdraw the barrel from the knives sufliciently far to admit of the plate being turned over without striking the bedknife.

E is a coupling-rod connected with suitable power for imparting motion, by means of a crank, f, and lever (Z, to a vertically-sliding racleplate meshing with a tooth ed gear around the barrel to rotate the same for the purpose of turning the plate.

F is an arm projecting from the bracket 0, oi which it preferably forms a part, and serves to support the feed-rod and connecting parts.

The outward end a of this arm is turned up at right angles a shortdistance, and provided with two upright pieces, b 21, one on each side, to form a rest or guide for the feed-rod. One of these upright pieces, 1 is made preferably of spring-steel, in order that it will maintain a constant pressure on the feedrod. The other side piece serves as a stop for the lever L op erating the pawl M.

G is the feed-rod, consisting of a plain rod of round .iron, to which are attached at one end the nail-plate nippers (sh own by dotted lines) for holding the nail-plate. The body of this rod, for a short distance, near its upper end, is fitted with a square rod casing or stock, H, having a tooth ed rack, (3, formed in its upper surface. It is also provided with movable collars c 6, provided with set-screws s s, to hold ing while the feed-rod rotates with the movement of the barrel.

K is a thin piece of sheet metal, preferably spring steel, provided with a central slot lengthwise of the plate, through which is placed a set-screw, h, to secure the plate to the rack. The object of this plate is to form a stop for the feed mechanism by covering up the teeth to a point where it is required to stop the feed.

L is a lever pivoted to the arm F.

M is a pawl pivoted to the upper end of the lever, the latter also having an arm, 7., hung rigidly on the same pivots, to which is attached a spiral spring, Z, to hold the pawl down on the rack. This pawl is capable of being turned back orthrown over its center to permit of the feed-rod being removed to insert another plate.

N is a push-bar pivoted to one end of .the lever L, or secured by any well-known adjust able connection, and resting in a suitable bearing-on the frame of the barrel-br'acket, with the end bearing against the body of the nailmachine or a spring stop or cushion arranged to receive it.

m is a spiral spring to hold the push-rod in tension.

The mode of operation is as follows: The operator first places a nail-plate in the nipper of the feed-rod. He then pushes theend: of the feed-rod holding the plate into the barrel of the machine far enough for the plate to be grasped by the fingers of the rod, and presses the body of the rod between the guides b I), provided for holding the same. Then he turns down the pawl onto the rack, and the feeding apparatus-is ready for operation. As the barrel of the machine moves forward by means of the rock-lever to present the plate to the knives, the push-bar N engages with the stop or cushion on the body of the nail-machine and causes the lever L to operate the pawlM, resting on the rack c, which forces the feed rod G forward one or more notches at each successive movement of the feed mechanism. The stop-plate K is capable of being adjusted lengthwise of the rack to fit into the notches at the proper length to feed a nail-plate, so that when the nail-plate is cutaway to the end of the nippers the pawl will strike the end of the stop and cease to advance the feed-rod, thus avoiding inj my to the working parts and giving notice to the operator when the plate has been cut away. As the feed-rod is rotated by the barrel, it is obvious that the rod can be 5 5 made in two sections-one part with the nip pers attached and the other provided with a rack-plateconnected togetherat the ends, so 7 that the portion to which the nippers are attached can rotate, while the other remains sta- 6o tionary. This form of construction I claim as a modification of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a nailplate-feeding machine, a feedrod pro vided with an adjustable rack-plate, for the purpose-in connection with a pawl and suitable operating mechanism-of feeding the nail-plate accurately into the cutting-knives,

substantially as herein shown.

2, In a nail-plate-feeding machine, the feed"- rod G, provided with a square-sided casing or stock, H, having a tubular bore for the passage of the rod, and fitted with a rack on the upper side, and movable collars e e, to adjust the same 011 the rod, in combination with the pawl M, lever L, and rod N, substantially as and forthe purpose lierein set forth.

3. The combination, with the feed-rod G,

SAMUEL S. DEAN.

i 1 n csscs:

Gno. K. STORM, B. Kmnvns. 

